Opinion Blog

What to make of the latest WSJ/NBC News poll

Here are some points that Barack Obama should like from today’s Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll:

*He’s still in the lead, by a 49-43 percent margin;

*He’s seen as the better candidate on foreign policy, immigration and most other key issues; and

*He has higher positive ratings than Mitt Romney.

Now, here are the parts that Mitt Romney should like:

*He’s clearly the preferred candidate to handle the economy, which half of voters feel less optimistic about than previously;

*He’s ahead among voters with a high-interest in the race, by a 48-46 percent margin; and

*He’s ahead in winning independents.

One striking finding about both candidates is that they have high double-digit negative ratings. Obama’s negatives are at 43 percent, while Romney’s are at 40 percent. GOP pollster Bill McInturff, who does this poll with Democrat Peter Hart, told the Journal: “There is no precedent for that in the modern era.”

What does all of this mean?

The race is still Obama’s to lose, but he could if he can’t connect with Americans on economics, the central issue in this race, and if Romney keeps winning independents.

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The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board was the first editorial board in the nation to use a blog to openly discuss hot topics and issues among its members and with readers. Our intent is to pull back the curtain on the daily process of producing the unsigned editorials that reflect the opinion of the newspaper, and to share analysis and opinion on issues of interest to board members and invited guest bloggers.